Home > 1.3.2.1 Ballots and election material > GERMANY - Federal Electoral Regulations
 
 
 
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Section 69
 

Counting of Votes



(1) Once the ballot papers, the voting endorsements and the polling cards have been counted, two or more Board members shall, under the supervision of the Electoral Officer, form the following piles of ballot papers, which they shall keep under their charge:


1. piles sorted by Land list with the ballot papers on which the first and second votes have indubitably been cast for the candidate and the Land list of the same party,


2. one pile with the ballot papers on which the first and second votes have indubitably been cast for candidates and Land lists of different nominating bodies, as well as the ballot papers on which only the first or second vote is indubitably valid and the other vote has not been cast,


3. one pile with the unmarked ballot papers.


Ballot papers which give cause for doubt shall be set aside and placed in the custody of a Board member designated for this purpose by the Electoral Officer.


(2) The Board members in charge of the ballot papers sorted by Land (subsection (1), first sentence, number 1) shall hand over the piles one by one, some to the Electoral Officer and some to his or her deputy. The latter shall examine whether the ballot papers of each pile all bear the same marks and announce aloud the candidate for whom and the Land list for which the votes in each pile have been cast. If a ballot paper gives the Electoral Officer or his or her deputy cause for doubt, they shall add it to the ballot papers set aside pursuant to subsection (1), second sentence.


(3) The Electoral Officer shall then examine the unmarked ballot papers (subsection (1), first sentence, number 3) which shall be given to him or her for this purpose by the Board member who has custody of them. The Electoral Officer shall announce that in these cases both votes are invalid.


(4) Thereafter, successive groups of two Board members designated by the Electoral Officer shall, under mutual scrutiny, each count one of the piles of ballot papers examined by the Electoral Officer and his or her deputy in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) and establish the number of valid votes cast for the nominations as well as the number of invalid votes. The numbers shall be entered in the election record as subtotals.


(5) The Board member in charge of the pile of ballot papers formed in accordance with subsection (1), first sentence, number 2 shall hand over the pile to the Electoral Officer. The Electoral Officer shall first sort the ballot papers into new piles by the second votes for the Land lists and for each ballot paper announce aloud the Land list for which the second vote has been cast. For ballot papers on which only the first vote has been cast, he or she shall announce that the unused second vote is invalid. If a ballot paper gives the Electoral Officer cause for doubt, he or she shall add it to the ballot papers set aside pursuant to subsection 1, second sentence. The piles formed by the Electoral Officer shall then be counted in accordance with subsection (4). Thereafter, the Electoral Officer shall rearrange the ballot papers by the first votes, and the count shall proceed in accordance with the second to fifth sentences. The various numbers of votes shall be entered as subtotals in the election record.


(6) Finally, the Electoral Board shall decide on the validity of the votes cast on the ballot papers which have been set aside. The Electoral Officer shall announce the decision orally and in the case of valid votes say for which candidate or Land list the vote has been cast. He or she shall record on the rear of each ballot paper whether both votes, only the first vote or only the second vote has been declared valid or invalid and mark the ballot papers with serial numbers. The numbers of votes cast shall be entered as subtotals in the election record.


(7) The number of invalid votes cast and of votes cast for the nominations, as ascertained pursuant to subsections (4) to (6) above, shall be added up by the clerk and entered in the election record. Two Board members designated by the Electoral Officer shall verify the calculation. If a member of the Electoral Board requests a recount of the votes prior to the signature of the election record, the procedure stipulated in subsections (1) to (6) above shall be repeated. The reasons for the recount shall be minuted in the election record.


(8) The Board members designated by the Electoral Officer shall collect


1. the ballot papers on which the first and second votes, or the first vote only, have been cast, sorted by the candidates who have received the first vote,
2. the ballot papers on which the second vote only has been cast,
3. the unmarked ballot papers,
4. the ballot papers which have given cause for doubt,
in separate bundles and shall keep them under their charge.